Donald Trump confident of fair trade deal with China

US President Donald Trump has exuded confidence of having a fair trade deal with China, warning further tariffs might follow it did not materialise.

Trump is scheduled to meet the Chinese President Xi Jinping in Argentina on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit on November 30 and December 1.

"We've had very good discussions with China. We're getting much closer to doing something. They very much want to make a deal. As you know, their economy went way down since we've been doing this skirmish," Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, a day after he spoke over phone with Xi.

"I think we'll make a deal with China. And I think it'll be a very fair deal for everybody, but it will a good deal for the United States," he said.

The president added that he would have a dinner with Xi at the G20 summit, wherein they would be discussing the issue.

Trump sounded very optimistic about reaching a trade deal with China, or else, he warned, he was ready to impose a trade tariff of 25 per cent on another USD 267 billion worth of Chinese products. "They've been hit very hard. Their economy has been very, very bad."

Meanwhile in an interview, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China was the most important long-term strategic challenge for the US.

"We've talked about trade. We need that to be fair and reciprocal with them. But just this week, we indicted 10 Chinese for stealing intellectual property. It's been going on in previous administrations for decades. This is really important to American business and protecting the human capital, the talented work of American people, and national security," he said. LKJ HMB